Hindu Outfit Shuts KFC, Nazeer Foods Outlets In Ghaziabad Over Sawan

NDTV

3 days ago

Members of the Hindu Raksha Dal on Friday forcefully downed the shutters of two popular eateries - KFC and Nazeer Foods - in Ghaziabad over the sale of meat during the ongoing period of Sawan, in the presence of police who remained mute spectators.
Sources said the incident in Vasundhara area of Ghaziabad comes even as the sale of non-vegetarian food items are not banned in the concerned region amid the ongoing Sawan period and Kanwar Yatra.
Videos of the incident showed the group chanting "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" and "Jai Shri Ram" as they confronted the restaurants' staff members before downing the shutters. It also showed one of the members telling the staff at KFC that "this is Hindustan and whatever the Hindus want will happen here".
The staff at KFC appears to be hassled and making a few phone calls over the protest.
"We are protesting against KFC and Nazeer Foods here since this is a Hindu-populated area. Kanwar Yatras are held here but these people are selling meat here. How can you not respect the sentiments of the Hindus when they are the ones staying here. This is our festival and if anyone tries to interfere, then we will stage protests," one of the members said.
He alleged that the outfit had already taken permission from the administration for the protest. "We do not have a written permission but since we are very active here, we keep talking to them and thus, obtained a verbal permission," he said.
Another member said: "They will have to shut their shops. If these KFC and Nazeer Foods outlets reopen, we will stage a similar protest and shut them down."
The Kanwar Yatra, which began on June 10, sees the participation of lakhs of devotees every year who travel mostly on foot from Haridwar to their local Shiva temples, carrying holy water from the Ganga to offer on Shivlingas.
The Uttar Pradesh government had recently come under criticism for its move to make it mandatory for all shops along the Kanwar Yatra route to have proper licenses and clearly display the owner's original name.